Railway journal boxes



March 17, 1959 w. H. SALE RAILWAY JOURNAL BOXES 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Jan. 5, 1956 Filed Jem.`

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent O RAILWAY JOURNAL BOXES William H. Sale, Sandston, Va., assgnor to Klasing Hand Brake Co., Joliet, Ill.

Application January 3, 1956, Serial No. 556,949

2 claims; tcl.' 30s-ss) The invention relates to journal boxes for axles of railway trucks.

One object of the invention is to provide improved means for lubricating the journal and bearing for the car-axle.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved seal for retaining oil in the journal box. V

Other objects will appear from the detailed description.

The invention consists in the several novel features which are hereinafter set forth and more particularly dened by claims at the conclusion hereof.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a longitudinal section of a journal-box embodying the invention, the axle being shown in elevation;

Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 2 2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the fibrous pad for feeding lubricant to the journal on the axle from the well in the journal box;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the strip attached to the inner face of the top of the tubular member of the pad;

Fig. 5 is a perspective of the blank of felt or brous material from which the tubul'ar and bottom members of the pad are formed;

Fig. 6 is a section taken on line 6 6 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 7 is a section taken on line 7 7 of Fig. l.

The invention is exemplified in a journal box for the journal 10 of a railway car-axle 11, a bearing 12 and a wedge 13 in the case 14, all of which may be `of standard construction. The case includes the usual well 15 for lubricant under the journal 10, an opening for access normally closed by a lid (not shown) and ribs or baffles 16 on the sides of the case. The usual dust-guard well 17 is provided between the rear Wall 18 of case 14 and a back wall 19 of the dust-guard well. Openings 20 and 21 are formed in walls 18 and 19 through which the axle passes.

The lubricant is conducted from the well 15 to the journal 10 by a pre-formed pad of felt or suitable brous material which absorbs oil in said well, conducts the oil by capillary action to and has wiping contact with, the lower portion of the journal 10. This capillary pad of felt comprises: a tubular member 30 which has an open outer end and a closed inner end 31 and extends longitudinally under the journal 10 for contact therewith; a bottom member 32 which tits on the curved bottom of the well in case 14 and extends longitudinally to the inner end of journal 10 and transversely to the ribs 16 on the sides of the case; and a strip of felt 34 which is secured to the inner face of the top portion of tubular member 30 and has tabs 36 and 37 at its ends. Strip 34 and the top member 30 provide a double thickness of felt underlying the journal.

vA resilient or spring strip 39 is adapted to press strip 34 and the upper pontion of member 30 upwardly toward the journal 10 for maintaining wiping contact of the pad with journal' 10. Spring 39 includes a lower arm l'2,878,081 Patented Mar. 17, 1959 40 which extends longitudinally of and engages the central portion of the bottom member 32 and an upper arm 42 which engages the under side of strip 34. The expansive force of the strip 39 yieldingly presses the upper portion of the tubular member 30 in contact with the axle. The pad is saturated with oil poured into the bottom well 15 of the box for applying an oil film to the journal 10 on the axle during its rotation. The spring 39 is insertible between the strip 34 and the central portion of bottom member 32 from the outer end of the box and has a bend 43 at its front end adapted to be grasped for withdrawal `of the spring from the pad. The rear end of the pad at the sideseof tubular member 30 has a forwardly extending ange 38 to provide a double .I thickness of felt at the rear upper corners of member 32.

` The pad may be economically made from a rectangular sheet or blank of felt by slitting the sheet at 44, folding. the side margins of zjone 45 over zone 46 to form tubular member 30 and securing said side marginsby stitches 46 to the center of the bottom member 32 which is formed; of the zone 46 of the sheet.

A portion'o'f the zone 46 adjacent the slits 44 is folded along thefdotte'd line 47 to provide a double thickness lof felt at the inner end of the pad. The upper portion of the tubular member 30 and strip 34 are pressed upwardly by spring 39 for applying oil by wiping and yielding contact with the journal 10. The felt of the pad is saturated with oil from the well 15 and by capillary action transfers a film of oil to the journal.

An elastic seal is provided in the journal box between the journal 10 and the opening in the back wall 18 of case 14 through which the axle passes for preventing the escape of oil from the case around the axle. This seal is formed of natural or synthetic rubber and comprises a plate 50 tting against and extending across the front face of rear wall 18, a plate 51 tting against the rear face of wall 18 and a hub 52 between plates 50 and 51. Plates 50 and 51 and hub 52 have a cylindrical opening fitting around the axle. Said plates are extended to overlap and close the opening 20 in front and rear faces of wall 18. The hub 52 may be integral with one of the plates 50 and 51 and bonded by an adhesive to the contiguous face of the other wall after the parts have been separately insented in the case 14 and the dust-guard well. The plates 50 and 51 of this seal move vertically with the axle and prevent leakage of oil from the case 14 through opening 20 around the axle. An integral flange 54 is formed on the front face of plate 50 to baille the oil in well 15 away from the opening 20.

The operation will be as follows: the well 14 is filled with lubricant, the felt of the pad in said well becomes saturated and by capillary action feeds a film of oil into the journal 10 through its wiping contact therewith. The spring 39 presses the felt in the upper portion of member 30 and strip 35 to insure this wiping contact and the feed of oil to the journal. The ribs 16 on the inner faces Iof the sides of the box hold the bottom member 32 of the pad on the bottom of the case 14. The plates 50 and 51 of the seal prevent escape of oil around the axle and through opening 20 in the rear wall of the case 14.

In assembling the seal with the box, the plate 50 with Ehub 52 is inserted into the case 14 with an adhesive applied on the free end of hub 52 and the plate 51 is inserted into the dust-guard well and secured to said hub by the adhesive. This is done before the journal box is assembled with the axle. The pre-assembled pad is inserted into the box through the opening in the outer end of the box. The spring 39 may be inserted between the bottom member 32 and strip 35 with the side margins of member 32 under flanges 16 on the side of case 14 so that the pad will be held in its operative position to feed oil to the journal 10. When replacement or removal of the pad is desired, the spring 39 can be withdrawn from the box so thatthe pad may be collapsed for removal throughk the opening` normally closed by the lid. 'This facilitates `removal and replacement of the pad for repair or cleansing.

The invention is not to be understood as restricted to the details set forth since these may be modified within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination with a journal box, a railway axle having an end extending into and provided with a journal in, the box, the box having walls and defining an oil well under the axle, of a pad of sheet-felt or like material, comprising integraltop and bottom members folded and lapped together to form a longitudinal pocket under the axle, a transverse fold between and at the rear end of said members for closing the pocket, and extensions on the lower member from the sides of the top-member extending along the sides of the Well, and a resilient strip having members joined at its rear and insertible into the front end of the pocket, for urging the upper member against the journal.

2. The combination with a journal box, a railway axle having an end extending into and provided with a journal in, the box, the box having Walls and defining an oil well under the axle, of a pad of sheet-felt or like material, comprising integralf top and bottom members folded and lapped together to form a longitudinal pocket under the axle, a transverse fold between and at the rear end of said members for closing the pocket, and extensions on the lower member lfrom the sides of the topmember extending over the well at the sides of the topmember, a reinforcing strip of felt under the topmember, and a resilient strip having members joined at its rear and insertible into the front end of the pocket for urging the upper member against the journal.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

